Nwoye's Point of View
by Lesmis13
Summary: I watched my father walked inside, and could not help but wondered if Ikemefuma's pleas were the same as those twins. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.


**(A/N: This is the second story that I had to write for my World Literature class. I am still surprise by the grade I got for this, which is a ninety, because I avoided doing this until the last minute. The assignment was to select any chapter from the novel, and rewrite it to our assigned character's point of view. My assigned character was Nwoye, and I decided to rewrite chapter seven, which I thought was one of the biggest moment of his character. We get to see the kind of person Nwoye was before the settlers arrived in the village, and everything falling apart. Anyways, I hope you enjoy.)**

Nwoye's point of view:

Ikemefuma had only lived with my family for three years, and in such a short time, he became a big brother to me. He was strong and manly like my father, but he was so much different than him. He was always kind to me and accepted me as the person I was. His presence made me feel warm and safe. Ikemefuma made me feel as though I was becoming a man. This man who came to my life three years ago saved me and proved my self-worth to father.

I loved my father, the proud hero of my village, but I also feared him. He always beat me if I made a mistake or cried, and then told me that it was for my own good afterward. Lately, since Ikemefuma came to our home, father's attitude towards me changed. He no longer beat me instead he wore a small smile as if he was pleased. At first, I thought that small smile was for Ikemefuma since father had appreciated him more than me, but Ikemefuma had told me that father was smiling at me. Ikemefuma said that father had finally opened his eyes, and realized that I was becoming a man. I smiled a small smile and kept my emotions to myself and went on to help my mother. It would be no good if I showed any emotions in front of my father. He hated when people showed their emotions.

Father had changed. He now invited me with Ikemefuma, of course, inside his obi so he could recite his stories to us. I sat down cross-legged next to Ikemefuma on the ground while my father told his heroic stories that were filled blood and gore. I did not pay attention to him nor did I care. As my father spoke, my mind and spirit reached for that memory of my mother singing the sorrowful song of the peace bringing Vulture. Her voice made me feel as if I was with the Vulture as it made its way to make peace with the sun. I snapped out my reverie when my mother and the other wives came in with father's food, which he eventually gave to us. I felt grateful, but also sad at the same time. I could not bring myself to comprehend my father's stories nor was I able to tell him that I enjoyed my mother's stories much better. But, I knew better than that to tell him. He would just get mad. Sometimes, I wished I was the Vulture, so I could make peace with father and actually be myself.

The locust came during our hard day doing house work. It was a relief actually since we did not have to work until the following day and because we were going to have a lot of food to eat. That day, Ikemefuma was the happiest child. Who could have known that he was going to die soon?

Father had invited us to his obi again. I was finally feeling comfortable with my father. Everything was going along just fine until Ezeudu walked in and interrupted us. He gave Ikemefuma a cold stare before asking my father to come with him. My father left to talk with him for a couple of minutes before returning back into the obi. Soon as he came back inside, I could tell something was off. My father looked at his food and ate solemnly. None of us talked, and after a while father sent us away.

The next day, the elders came in like a rush of wind, they spoke to me and Ikemefuma a little, but they wanted to speak with father. My father and the elders did not talk for a very long; it was only a couple of minutes, and the elders were on their way. Father sat down on his chair and did nothing just like the night before. Then, he called only Ikemefuma, which was a surprise because for the past couple of weeks my father had called both us to come to him. Curious, I followed Ikemefuma to my father's obi, and hid so they would not see me, and listen. What I heard was not what I was expecting at all. They were going send him back home, why? Suddenly, I had this bad feeling in my stomach. Somewhere deep down inside, I knew Ikemefuma was really not going home. I became angry and could not help it anymore, and cried. My father heard me, and beat me for the first time in a while. It hurt so much, but I did not care. Knowing what was going to happen to Ikemefuma hurt me much more than my father's fists. Once, he was done, I ran and told my mother what was going to happen to Ikemefuma. My mother did not know what to say, and I did not blame her.

That night my father came back home. He did not even need to say anything; I already knew that Ikemefuma was dead. It was written all over his face. I could not bring myself to cry or say anything to father. I just stood there as I felt something snapped inside me, and it hurt. I had not felt this pain since that day all those years ago. It was harvest season, and I was walking home with a basket of yams in my hands when I heard a sound of babies crying in the forest. I froze and listen to the conversation of the women fleeing the forest. Something inside me snapped when I heard that newborns twins were left to die for no apparent reason. I watched my father walked inside, and could not help but wondered if Ikemefuma's pleas were the same as those twins.


End file.
